Ex-Lover Gives Explanation for Altering Cisneros Tapes

WASHINGTON —  A woman who secretly recorded her phone conversations with former Housing Secretary Henry G. Cisneros testified Tuesday that she altered only five or six of the 88 audiotapes that figure prominently in the government’s case against him.

Prosecutors, who want to use some of the tapes at Cisneros’ conspiracy trial in September, summoned his ex-lover to the stand to explain why she edited certain passages and later lied to FBI and IRS investigators about the tapes’ authenticity.

Linda Jones’ explanation of her actions came as Cisneros’ legal team prepared to challenge the admissibility of the tapes. They are central to the government’s contention that Cisneros conspired with Jones to conceal from the FBI the scope of what prosecutors contend were “hush money” payments.

Taking the stand for a second day of a pretrial hearing, Jones said she edited the tapes to delete passages in which she threatened Cisneros with retribution if he stopped the payments he had begun after publicity over their extramarital affair cost her a marriage and her livelihood as a political fund-raiser.

She repeatedly threatened to reveal the payments to the news media, the Clinton transition team that was vetting the former San Antonio mayor for a Cabinet post and others.

The editing, performed on a boombox, was done on the advice of lawyers who warned her that the threats could prove legally troublesome, she testified.